The Mandarin Chef in Test Valley

Went for my mum's birthday meal fantastic food great staff, went above and beyond would highly recommend.

Recommend booking to eat in house over taking away, as the difference is night and day. Lovely selection of dishes, and appreciated that you could order as you go. Would visit again.

A large family night out, very friendly staff, coped with grandparents to grandchildren excellent all through.

It's always been a please and delight to either eat at the Mandarin or have a takeaway. We could do this till the cows come home, fantastic place

Food was really good. Staff were all so lovely which is why it's hard to say this but it could all do with some decorating and a good deep clean. Especially the skirting boards. The toilets could do with a face lift too. A shame because the food is soooo delicious it's definitely our favourite Chinese in Hampshire!

Booked to go on Sunday as a family of 6. Didn't need to book as very quiet but fabulous service,food and drinks.

The chinese restaurant serves a all you can eat menu..the food is delicious but the decor and surroundings are extremely worn and out of date..theres even a green wheelie bin on the restaurant floor to be seen..it would be lovely to see this restaurant updated in the glory it deserves to match the food and service.

Had takeaway. Menu available online and pdf download which makes it easier to order. Food was nice. Plenty of variety.

Good food, great service - cutest server ever! (with good food suggestions, also).

Sadly a waste of money! It wasn't cheap! Ordered chicken chow mein so salty we couldn't eat it also very little chicken. Spicy crispy Beef hard and also very salty. Crispy spring rolls had very little filling. Crispy Duck was the highlight really nice.

Having lived within 1 mile for years, I'd never been. However on a recent trip South from Durham I booked a table and was pleased I did. I ordered from the a la Carte menu and the food was excellent. Due to a raucous birthday party and another large group, service was slow and the noise from other tables made conversation difficult at times, which wasn't ideal. However, we were offered more prawn crackers while we waited and the children were given a free ice cream at the end by way of apology. However, would recommend and will go again.

Awesome food, drink and service

Great quick service, Amazing very tasty food and great value for money

A great place to go but make sure you book as they are always busy. Lovely staff. Been many times and will go many more

A great Chinese restaurant in Romsey. We did the buffet style (which is all you can eat from a limited menu) and loved it. The buffet menu is generous, as are the portions. The staff were all great and the food came out fast. We will be going back for sure.

The best restaurant around. Food is of an amazing quality. Staff are brilliant and can’t do enough for you. Try this restaurant you won’t be disappointed

Went there for Mother’s Day, was quickly seated but was very slow with getting food ordered. Once food lot of food was ordered we had to try and get their attention so we can order our second course. One of my family members ordered a drink that never came and we feel like they didn’t listen to our order as not enough rice was brought and wrong food sent. Disappointed

Good food, to much as we couldn't eat all of the starter let alone the mains

Dined in tonight, food was all fresh and great customer service. Would come for next time.

Undoubtedly the best restaurant in many many miles. Splendid food.

Great food and great service highly recommend visiting !

I Took my wife there for Valentines evening, The food was good, the staff were very nice , and the atmosphere was pleasant, At 10 pm we were the last people in the restaurant and the staff started packing up the tables and moving the furniture around ,it made me feel very uncomfortable . We decided to forgo the sweet and go, The evening was spoiled

Been eating here on and off for over 20yrs and on a family birthday visit this evening was really disappointed. The service was slow/non existent, the food was flavourless and dry, the chicken fried rice was burnt. The waitress spilled a drink over my daughter’s napkin, plate and lap said sorry and walked away. We unfortunately will not be returning here ever again.

USED TO BE GOOD. We used to order from this Chinese regularly however, our most recent visit left much to be desired. The takeaway was cold, which was a let down right from the start. The egg fried rice had a glue-like consistency and lacked egg. The beef fillet was also a massive disappointment. Not only was the beef not fillet it was so tough that it was inedible. Given our past positive experiences, I decided to call up the restaurant to express my concerns. However, the response I received was less than satisfactory. The lady on the other end of the line seemed disinterested and didn't offer any explanation or real apology for the subpar food. Its such a shame to see a once reliable Chinese restaurant and takeaway experience such a decline in quality and service.

Lovely food, friendly staff but not very accessible for disabled people.

We really liked the food here it was good quality for a buffet style meal for our family of seven Service from the staff was good too considering they had some large parties in dinning

All ways fresh and hot. They don't take the Mick by over filling the plates that come out. So gives you a fantastic opportunity to try what you like.

Attentive Staff. Good food and atmosphere

A delightful buffet lunch, everything is freshly prepared and packed with flavour. Whilst lots of choice, the house wines are good. Always busy which adds to the atmosphere, family friendly. Lovely staff, family run. Excellent value for money!

Had a couple of takeaways recently from here and it's been good. The food tastes 'genuine', no excess salt, no excess grease, good, tasty, Chinese food.

Love the fact that you can try new dishes and because they service smaller than normal portions you can try more dishes. They are happy to let you try what you wish but expect you not to waste there food. One set price on all you can eat buffet.

Excellent tasty food great value for money.

Great Chinese takeaway with a varied menu which has been consistently good! Since we moved to Romsey in 2012 we've been using the takeaways in the area, and for Chinese food we've found the Madarin Chef hard to beat. In fact when things opened up again post pandemic, our first take-away was from here! The menu is varied and has uk-chinese restaurant staples, together with less common dishes for those who want to go off piste. Where poultry sometimes feels like an unknown quantity quality wise in restaurants, here it has always been great with the Chinese duck tasty and not over dry. Vegetables in dishes don't feel like an afterthought and all in all we really like this place. The fried rice (egg, special, etc) is always good and has the right amount of firmness for me as opposed to being made with new steamed rice. The staff are friendly and whilst I always order too much ( I'd like to say my eyes are bigger than my stomach, but sadly I can't pretend that's the case) that's on me! I love sesame toast but I probably shouldn't eat it all... Thank you to the staff and owners. This is a takeaway review so I can't in any honesty rate on Atmosphere (My five stars are to avoid any negative effect).

Decent food, very good value for money. Don't fill up on too many starters, you can order as many dishes as you want for the set price. You can always switch back to starters after your second course if you want. Smoked chicken and Prawn toasts were the highlights, loved the chef special pork chunks. Vegetable curry and tofu in black bean both good. The duck was the main dissapointment, it was very dry. Service was very friendly.

Back here after many years living away. Delighted to find that the Mandarin Chef is as good as ever. The staff are friendly and attentive, and cheerfully accommodated our large, family "get together". The food is amazing and reasonably priced.

Brilliant place to eat. Friendly staff. Food delicious

Our favourite takeaway in Romsey! Great food, great service

Food was very nice and staff were so friendly however the building itself needs to be renovated as I think they will bring in so many more customers if they modernise the restaurant. This restaurant has so much potential as the food is so good will be coming back again!

Lovely food, friendly and attentive staff, enjoyable lunchtime meal. Would certainly go back again. The menu is not too big (often too much choice can be overwhelming), but has a good variety still. There were six of us for lunch and the variety for the buffet was perfect. The portions are large, there was certainly more than enough food served for eight! The food was good quality, well presented and certainly worth what you pay. I found the drinks did let the side down a little; the coke was fairly flat and wasn’t as chilled as it could have been. The building itself is in need of some TLC (as many planned are thanks to the pandemic disrupting turnover!) but it was clean and well presented. Overall would recommend, and plan on returning.

Always service with a smile and abundance of good quality food Knowledgeable and helpful staff Buffet evening!

Great food and prompt friendly service.

Amazing food. The staff are excellent the best Chinese restaurant i have eaten at. Always amazing

My family had the buffet option. Lovely food all great quality, all freshly prepared and lots of choice, staff were welcoming and attentive, even the music was quiet enough to make conversation easy. My first visit but hope to return soon. Would highly recommend.👍🏻

Lovely place, great food, great staf all round great place

Food was amazing, price was a little steep for what we got. Service was amazing, staff very helpful. Parking was a little awkward.

This place is a great place if you are interested or into all you can eat Chinese food. The food is amazing and plentiful. The staff helpful and friendly. Nothing is too much trouble. I only have a small criticism that the restaurant, bar area, toilets are long, long overdue a decoration and thorough deep clean! We used to go here every month before covid lockdown and this was the first trip back in 3 and half years. It doesn't appear to have been touched in that time. Which is a crying shame even for a minimum coat of paint toilet upgrade and carpet deep clean I am sure this would be packedike it used to. Still say though thay the food was amazing and staff great.

Excellent food. We had a lovely evening. The staff are so gracious, polite and accommodating. I would recommend it without hesitation.

Visit here on occasions for an evening meal and can't complain apart from not having specific item on some evenings. Food is always good and tasty, service is always quick. Set price for the menu so no surprises unless you drink ALOT...

Not great, used to have a bigger menu. Restaurant looks tired and dirty, cobwebs everywhere food gray and tasteless. Very disappointing

December 2nd 2022, went for lunch and it was freezing in there. I know that energy prices have risen, but if you can't afford to have the heating on then you shouldn't be open. This is the our first visit since lockdown and the seating and carpets are looking very shabby. Won't be returning any time soon.

Very decent food with a good price

I have been here twice and had a lovely meal each time. The food is authentic and the service is spot on. The food is very well priced too. I will be back again soon

Delicious food and excellent service.

Needed to get a quick dinner with the family as we were passing through the area. We had not booked a table but the staff were able to accommodate us nonetheless. It was busy so we greatly appreciate their hospitality. The pork rib starter was a pleasent surprise. The ribs were much bigger than expected. Great food. Great service.

Excellent for a family celebration. Staff very helpful and made good recommendations. A relaxed happy occasion with an abundance of tasty and well presented dishes.

Just had chicken chow mein. I'm 71 and have had a few in my time but that was the best ever. Thank you

Good value, good food and friendly staff.

Absolutely amazing, staff are always so lovely and welcoming. The food is divine….have recommended so many friends and family who have also enjoyed the visit☺️☺️Definitely worth it!

brilliant staff always smiling and very welcoming , food is delicious , highly recommend to family’s and friends

Excellent food with lovely staff, made my birthday feel extra special Highly recommend

Delicious dishes that are prepared directly for you and you can eat as much as you want for a good price Highly recommended to eat there Friendly service Really great

Food and service excellent, very good value

First time visiting this place and will definately come again. Great food brilliant service and at a good price well worth a visit .

Lovely food all freshly cooked we love it.

Always call in to the Mandarin Chef, when in Romsey visiting my brother. The staff are excellent, the surroundings nice and the the food is first rate. Would definitely recommend it 👌.

One dish I ordered actually smelt vile. And tased the same. It was a seafood dish that smelt like gone off fish. So not impressed al all. The only saving grace with the BBQ Ribs they were very good.

First time trying here as a recommendation from some other friends me and my partner thought we would try it out. Food was a good selection , if prawn toast was hoke made maybe just add more prawn paste as was more like fried bread with seeds but the ribs were incredible and lots of the other food was amazing! lots of staff for service. Definitely happy to return my only complaint was the music! Luckily the restaurant itself had a loud enough buzz but on quieter moments it was this god awful put me to sleep music that sounded like was on repeat for the whole 2 hours I was there for! Reasonably priced buffet and drinks and good service will return in near future 👌

Incredible value for what you get. £20 per person and is all you can eat to order, so you can have as much as you want but freshly cooked! Quality was very good and the staff were all lovely as well. We were travelling from London to Dorset to see family and will make this a regular stop on our trips from now on!

Very nice and good quality for the value, friendly staff also, will definitely go back there

What can u say - good value, good food (and plenty of it)

All you can eat buffet is epic. Well worth the price for that alone. The chicken curry main was a bit average on reflection but the duck is lovely!

Love the Chinese buffet menu here. The salt and pepper ribs are AMAZING!

Lovely food, staff really welcoming and friendly 😊

Fantastic food,exellent service first but not the last time 😀

Food always good, staff always friendly. We have regular family gatherings there.

Found this restaurant online and went by the recent reviews, didn't disappoint the food was very nice and a wide choice from the buffet menu. The staff are very friendly and like to make you welcome. Would definitely recommend.

Food was ok when it eventually arrived but service very slow.

Absolutely amazing food. I stopped here on the way home on a long drive from Paris and I will definitely drive an hour to come here again. The host was hilarious with a great sense of humour. Reasonable prices and good selection. 6/5. Genuinely.

Lovely food and wonderful staff. Definitely in our top ten list of favourite places to eat 😊

Not bad, the food was pretty much average, however the smoked chicken was excellent. Basic Chinese food, lots of it and at a reasonable price.

Food very good and staff friendly.

Fab food...friendly...all can eat buffet great

Good service, food and atmosphere.

Very nice food with very good service.

The buffet was amazing, lovely food and great service xx

Fantastic sunday chinese buffett, waiting staff can't do enough for you.

Nice ambience.. good food! Will go again

The all you can eat buffet here is amazing quality and value. Seriously recommended a visit to anyone who loves their chinese food.

Value for money amd waiters were friendly . Will go again

Very tasty meal and friendly staff.

Great food, great staff, will definitely visit again

Lovely place so friendly and great food and service

Still the best al you can eat in the south

Great Chinese buffet! Starters are fantastic, especially the salt and pepper ribs and wings. Great duck course. You won't be disappointed!

Good service and friendly staff. Most of the dishes ok, some not so like cashew chicken. Few things were nice like the noodle soup. Average overall food. Very rammed and busy also felt quite uncomfortable in end and ate up and left.

My parents often take us here and when we come down to Romsey to visit them and it's wonderful every time. Lovely food and great service. Highly recommended!

Great food and such friendly staff highly recommended...

Amazingly tasty food and great customer service!! Always a treat to come here for the Evening Buffet.

The best place for Chinese in the area Staff are excellent as is the food.

Will not be going in there ever again food was awful, the manager was so rude